


Splitting the Question

by shinyskarmorys



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Marriage Proposal, Multi, Polyamory, peony is just really trying his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinyskarmorys/pseuds/shinyskarmorys
Summary: Peony's finally come to a decision: he'd like to marry the two loves of his life. Now, all he needs is the seal of approval and a foolproof plan.
Relationships: Peony (Pokemon)/Kabu (Pokemon)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	Splitting the Question

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaggyFinallyWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggyFinallyWrites/gifts).



> Mari is Maggy's adorable OC and I'm so glad I could write her that good good OT3 content! For more FlowerPowerShipping goodness you can [follow Maggy on Twitter](https://twitter.com/MaggyChatter)!

Peonia had never seen her father so nervous.

Actually, that wasn’t completely true; Peony was a bundle of energy and he could convert it into the nervous kind whenever required—before a big match, before one of  _ her  _ matches or school gatherings, while baking a cake—the list could go on. But he’d usually shake off that nervousness by turning it into gusto; hyping himself up with a loud “LET’S DO THIS!” enough to encourage himself, Peonia, and the neighbours.

This was different—he’d been pacing up and down the carpet for thirty minutes now ready to burn a hole in it, not saying a word except incoherent muttering, which was  _ very  _ uncharacteristic of him. No, there was definitely something on his mind, something that weighed him down enough to lull the household into silence, and it was getting his daughter very concerned.

“Uh, Papa?” she began slowly, looking up from her bowl at the table. “Aren’t you gonna come eat? Your soup will get cold.”

“The soup! Ah, yes, yes, the soup,” Peony exclaimed, as if he’d only just remembered the onion concoction he’d whipped up a mere half hour ago. He took his seat, staring absently at his bowl. “You know, Mari really likes this particular soup of mine. I think Kabu does, too, but I dunno for sure, since he always keeps adding extra pepper… but then he adds pepper to everything, which makes sense, I guess the food in Hoenn is hotter…”

Now Peonia was staring across the table with a quizzical expression. “Um, sure, but I think neither Mari nor Kabu would want you to skip out on lunch.”

“Of course, of course!” He blushed a little, scooping up a spoonful of the soup and swallowing it immediately—then winced when he realised it was still too hot.

“You should probably blow on that, Papa.”

“I remember I did that once, and I nearly burned my tongue… and Mari blew on the next spoonful for me, saying it was an indirect kiss for the burn. Ah, she’s adorable!” Peony sighed, a dopey grin on his face as he reminisced. “I don’t think she’d ever need to do that for Kabu. That man will eat his soup straight out of the pot if he must! But are we surprised? He handles fire every day like it’s nothing…”

“Okay, Papa,  _ what _ is going on?” Peonia threw her hands in the air, though she couldn’t hide a slight smile. “Yes, I know you love them both very much, and they love you too—”

“They do?” He looked up at her with an almost pleading glance. “I mean—of course they do, but—you really think so?  _ You _ think so?”

“Of course I do! I don’t just  _ think  _ so, I  _ know  _ so!” Peonia chuckled, putting her spoon down and leaning forward. “Mari is nothing but smiles and laughter whenever you’re around and even her Pokemon love you. And Kabu has always been there for you even if you  _ were  _ rivals. They tell me these things, you know.”

“They did? Oh, thank Arceus!” He heaved a sigh of relief, clasping his hands to his chest. “Good, good, good, good, good. Now that you have your approval, ahem, I can move on—”

“Wait a minute!” The teenage Trainer snapped her fingers triumphantly. “ _ Now _ I know what’s going on here! And why you’re more nervous than a Sobble in the wild!”

“Ahaha, you couldn’t possibly—”

“You want to propose to Mari and Kabu!”

“Damnit, Nia, how did you figure that out?” Peony groaned, turning a deeper red and slapping the sides of his face. His daughter simply folded her arms, shooting him an all-knowing smirk. “I could’ve sworn I was trying to keep it a secret!”

“You left the computer open before going to the kitchen and your last Google search was ‘how to measure accurate ring sizes’.”

“Okay, fine, fine! Yes, I was thinking of proposing,” Peony admitted, lowering his hands in defeat. “I just… it’s been long enough now, and I love them so much, and I’d like to have them around for as long as I possibly can, and…”

“I get it, Papa, it’s okay. And that’s honestly so sweet,” Peonia smiled, getting up and coming around the table so she could gently pat her father on the back. “And I think you should totally go for it. Catch them by surprise.”

“Y-you’re okay with it, then, Nia?” He took his daughter’s hands in a sincere grasp. The last thing he wanted to do was spring another family on her if she wasn’t sure of it. “Because I would never do this without your approval. It’s the most important to me!”

“Of course I am, Papa, I already told you,” Peonia fake-sighed, shaking her head before smiling brighter. “I know it would’ve been… hard after last time. And all I wanted was to see you happy again. And after you met Mari, and you made up with Kabu, you’ve been so much happier and so much more yourself again. You should keep that for as long as you can.” She grinned, placing her hands on her hips. “Besides, it would be  _ so  _ cool to get an extra mum and dad. I mean, they already feel like that anyway!”

“Well, then, that’s all the answer I need! Operation Dual Proposal is a go!” Peony declared loudly, standing up and throwing a fist to the air—before sitting back down and staring at his soup. “I made that name up just now. I don’t actually know how I’m gonna do it! I’m doomed!”

“Fear not,” the teenager smirked, patting her father’s shoulder and rubbing her hands together. “I might have a plan. I am totally in on Operation Dual Proposal.”

“You do?!” His face immediately brightened up, and he pulled his daughter into a bone-crushing hug. “Oh, Nia, you’re the sweetest daughter there ever was! Thank you, thank you so much for doing this for your dear old Papa—”

“Oof—don’t mention it,” she coughed, returning the hug for a few seconds before wriggling free. “Leave it to me, Papa. First things first—”

“I’m listening, I’m listening!”

“Finish your soup.”

* * *

**A Few Days Later**

Kabu had found it quite unusual that Peonia would be texting him in the middle of the day about a ‘situation’, which meant there was most definitely something up that required him hopping on board the nearest Corviknight Taxi outside Motostoke Stadium. When he got to their flat, however, Peonia was nowhere to be seen, and he was greeted by the sight of Peony pacing up and down the carpet with his brows furrowed. That, at least, was enough to warrant suspicion.

“I came as soon as I could,” he frowned, walking up to his partner and laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Is everything alright? Peonia told me you had a bit of an emergency you needed my help with.”

“Oh, thank Arceus, you’re here at last!” Peony shook his head as if snapping out of his daze, pausing to give Kabu a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing. “Yes, I do have a bit of a… situation, actually. And I didn’t want to give away too much because I wanted your input in person!”

“Goodness, this sounds serious,” Kabu wondered, eyebrows shooting up. He returned the kiss and took both Peony’s hands in his so the bigger man would stop pacing and stand in place; he’d always noticed those little touches helped calm down his energy somewhat. “Now tell me. What is it you need me for?”

“Oh, I need you all the time, if we’re being honest—”

“Peony.”

“Right, right, sorry!” He cleared his throat, shaking his head. “I was thinking… it’s about time.”

“Time for…?”

“Well, to propose to Mari, of course!” He laughed heartily when he noticed the shorter man turn a vivid pink. If his eyebrows could go any higher, they’d disappear into his hair. “Oh, come on, Sparks! Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it before. I know you have!”

“Well of course I’ve  _ thought _ about it, but… that’s quite different from actually putting it into action,” Kabu coughed, putting a hand to his cheek and hoping his partner wouldn’t catch on. “Besides, there’s also the question of, well…”

“Me, I know. I’m flattered you thought about that too,” Peony grinned, slapping the Fire-type specialist on the back. “It was confusing me too, y’know, because it’s traditionally the man who proposes and all that? Which is why I was thinking… why don’t we split duties? Both of us come up with a plan and spring the question on her together!”

“... Huh. Well. That would certainly make things easier, yes.” Kabu could let out the breath he’d been holding; the minute Peony had brought up the question of proposals, his own mind had begun racing, wondering if this meant he’d also have to go ahead and propose to  _ him. _ Not that Kabu would never consider it—he’d loved Peony for as long as he could remember, long enough that now things were settled and they were in a safe place together the question of marriage was almost inevitable. 

But was he supposed to do that here, now, on the carpet? He didn’t even have a ring with him! Fortunately, the other man had cleared that up for him, and he could turn his mind’s attention to the other great love of his life. He grinned. “So, Peony, I’m guessing you already had the beginnings of a plan, but as always, you wanted me to fill it in for you?”

“Spoken like a true rival. But only because you always got me,” Peony chuckled sheepishly, holding out his palms in explanation. “I was thinking the two of us take her somewhere nice. Or we don’t take her somewhere nice. I mean, not like take her to a garbage dump! But we take her out somewhere semi-nice—”

“We take her on a date, got it,” Kabu nodded calmly. “And I’m guessing sometime in the middle of this, we need to get into the thick of things. Perhaps a prepared speech?”

“Aw, Sparks, you know I’m no good at speeches,” the other man groaned. “You’ve always been the one good with pretty words and stuff!”

“Well, this is  _ your  _ idea. It’s only fair that you be the one to say it, and besides, you’re the one who’s better at talking,” he shrugged, a cheeky glint in his black eyes. “But don’t worry. I’ll write down something for you. You can lead with that, and I’ll chime in.”

“You will? Oh, you’re the best, Sparks! I feel much better now,” the Steel-type specialist grinned, squeezing the smaller man’s hands and taking a deep breath. “We can do this. We can do this! WE CAN DO THIS!”

“Of course we can. This is Mari we’re talking about, after all, we can’t possibly get it wrong with her. We never have,” his partner smiled warmly, crinkles forming at the thought of what the bubbly blonde’s reaction would be. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to practice.”

Peony would’ve burst out laughing if he wasn’t trying to hold it together. That was exactly what he’d hoped Kabu would say. He’d almost predicted it, knowing how meticulous the man was… he wouldn’t admit those tendencies had rubbed off on him over the years.

“Oh, absolutely! Alright, since I’m the one doing the talking, how about you be Mari?”

“Sounds fine to me.” Kabu pulled out one of the chairs at the dining table for Peony, taking the one opposite him for himself. “Alright, so pretend I’m Mari and I’m in front of you enjoying my meal. Let’s just assume Kabu is sitting at the side. He will say nothing until you’ve said your bit.” He shot a warm glance up at him. “Go on, Peony, you know what to do.”

“Ahem. Yes. Here I go.” Peony inhaled deeply, clasping his hands together and leaning slightly forward. “I’ve been thinking, y’know, thinking for a long time now. And I talked to Nia about it, and she said it too. All these years you’ve been by my side… I’ve never been happier.”

Kabu smiled, taking his partner’s hands in his as if slipping into the role. He knew exactly what Mari would say, too. “Oh, Peony, that’s so sweet of you.”

“And I mean it, y’know? When I was alone, and I thought I had no one to turn to, you were there for me, and you helped me be stronger, even if I felt kinda pathetic…”

“Now why would you ever think that?” Kabu frowned. “You’re Steel Peony after all!”

“Yeah, and you saw that side of me, but also the side of me that was beat down and standing in front of your apartment in the rain, because he couldn’t hold it together and had nowhere to go so he flew all the way to Motostoke like an idiot.”

That caught Kabu completely off guard. That was absolutely,  _ definitely  _ not part of the script. Come to think of it, there  _ wasn’t _ a script, was there? He’d left this all to Peony, and…

He leaned back, biting his lip, his eyebrows shooting up again. “Wait a minute, Peony—”

Peony simply grinned, looking back up at his partner with a satisfied expression. “You’ve always been there for me, Sparks, even if it meant you kept kicking my arse in battle. But you kept me right. You got me back up on my feet when I needed it the most, always doing the most for both me and Nia without expecting anything in return… you’re one of the most selfless, generous, warm people I know, and I mean that both literally and figuratively.”

“Oh, Arceus, you devilish man… I’ve been played,” Kabu was laughing now, hands on his face to hide the blush peeking through. “I should’ve known something was up when you weren’t calling me ‘Chief’.”

“Well, since you’ve figured it out, and I’ve said my bit…” Peony winked, finally getting up from his seat and rummaging in his pocket, kneeling on his right knee in front of his partner as he did so. Part of him was still in a daze at how well this had worked out—Peonia was some kind of mad genius, and he’d tell her exactly that later.

“My goodness. I’m—I’m quite astounded, honestly.” Kabu wiped a stray tear from his eye, regarding the small red box the other man was holding out to him. “Yes, Peony, I w—”

“Oh come on, at least let me say it! I practiced so hard for this moment!”

“Practiced with me in mind, no doubt. Well, go on.”

“Thank you,” Peony laughed, flipping open the lid to reveal a simple gold band with a single fiery orange stone embedded in the centre—very much the image of the man he was giving his life to. “Kabu, will you make me  _ the  _ happiest man in all of Galar and everywhere else, and marry me?”

Kabu was smiling with double the number of crinkles he had before, holding out his hand. “Yes, Peony. I absolutely will.”

“ _ Yes!  _ Oh, thank Arceus! DID YOU HEAR THAT, NIA? IT WORKED! HE SAID YES!” Peony yelled in the direction of the staircase, before slipping the ring onto the other man’s finger and pulling him into a deep, tender kiss. “I’m so chuffed I could burst. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, so very much. And I am so happy you want me by your side for the rest of our lives.” Kabu returned the kiss, holding his partner—no, his fiance’s face in his palms. “And after all this time… it only feels right.”

“It does,” Peony beamed, resting his forehead against his. “Which is why I knew I had to ask you sooner.”

“On that note… you do still plan to ask Mari, yes?” he chuckled. “Because I know I would.”

“Of course I do! And I still need you for that. We need to do a bit of ring shopping first.”

* * *

Mari didn’t know what to make of the text message Kabu had sent her, or its many parts. Dinner with the boys? Unexpected, but not unusual; everyone had been quite busy that week and it would be nice to finally get a ‘date’ to themselves. At Kabu’s sponsor hotpot place? Unsurprising, Peony would’ve talked him into saving one of his many free dinner privileges for the occasion. Meet them at the rooftop section? Now that was out of left field—she didn’t even know the hotpot spot  _ had  _ a rooftop.

Still, the thought of dinner and cuddles was all that mattered; after dropping off the babies at the daycare and pampering them as much as they needed—Lemonade was growing especially needy lately—she set off with Boltie towards Motostoke, a warm bubble in her chest adding to the growling of her stomach.

“She’s on her way,” Kabu informed Peony, checking his Rotom Phone. “Go wait upstairs. I’ll handle it here.”

They were dressed in the same clothes they were wearing earlier; they knew Mari wouldn’t have changed, and anything fancy on their part would raise suspicion. Kabu had taken care of all the texting, because Peony knew he would get overexcited and slip up—also why Peonia had done it for Kabu, he had realised. She’d given the Motostoke Gym Leader a bear hug and wished them luck before they left, and he couldn’t be happier with the decision he’d made.

Now, if Phase 2 could go as smoothly…

Mari hopped out of the taxi right in front of where he was waiting, Boltie in tow, and he drew her into a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. “I missed you, Mari. It’s been too long.”

“Didn’t you see me just the day before yesterday?”

“Still too long,” Kabu winked, leading her forward by the arm into the restaurant. “Peony’s waiting upstairs. I already got him there just in case he got lost, so I’m on door duty for you too.”

“How gentlemanly of you,” Mari giggled, pecking Kabu’s cheek as he led her up the stairs and to where Peony was waiting by a table on the rooftop; she sprinted forward to greet him with hugs and kisses in the same fashion. “Oh, I missed you both! How long has it been since we could all have dinner together again?”

“Far too long, which is why I made sure there was no one else up here,” he chuckled, joining his partners at the table—taking the same seats from their ‘rehearsal’ earlier. “The usual, then?”

With their usual order out of the way, including a special bowl of treats for Boltie, the trio could get back to laughing, complaining, and bantering about the week they’d had, just soaking in the delight of each other’s company again. Mari couldn’t help noticing, though, that Peony wasn’t as gung-ho as he normally was, even when the conversation turned to Peonia, whom he’d usually be gushing about with his chest puffed up. Which was odd—there was no one else around. Or was that why?

Peony could feel the beads of sweat creep up his neck every time he looked at her blonde head bobbing about as she laughed along with his jokes—he’d always loved that laugh of hers, and loved making her laugh so he got to hear it more… so why was this so  _ difficult _ ? He was relieved when the arrival of the food meant a break in conversation, but he had to make his move sometime. Even Kabu was side-eyeing him, making him all the more uneasy. He quickly took a spoonful of broth to forget about it.

“Ooof! That’s hot!”

“Well of course it is, silly, you ate it right out of the pot,” Mari snickered, blowing on a separate spoonful while Peony downed a glass of water, holding it out to him. “Here you go. A kiss for that burn.”

“Aw, Chief—you did it again,” he smiled, gratefully accepting the broth, his features softening. “You always know how to melt this big ole steel heart, don’t you?”

The Electric-type specialist chuckled, blushing a little. “Well, I don’t know about always—”

“No, you do, Chief, you really do,” Peony went on, this time taking her small hands in his, causing her blush to spread. “Every time I don’t know what to do, all I have to do is look at you and suddenly I’m inspired again! You’re amazing and you don’t realise how much. You always know the right things to say, to make us smile, to cheer us up… you’ve done it for so long I’m not sure how I ever managed without you.”

Now Mari was red as the gravy on the table, causing Boltie to grow very concerned. “P-Peony… this is all very sweet… but… where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

“Well, if I’m being honest… I’ve been doing some thinking over this week,” he explained, noticing how her eyes grew wide. “Mostly because I got to see so little of you and I missed you so much. Even Kabu agreed with me on how much of a light you are in our lives, Chief. So uh… I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

Mari could almost tell what was coming next, and she clapped her hands to her mouth as her hunch proved right: Peony slid off the chair and onto one knee, fishing in his pockets. “What I’m trying to say is… if I could keep that light around for the rest of my life…”

“Oh my Arceus, Peony!” Mari gasped, standing up straight from the sheer surprise and delight. Even Boltie was barking happily around her ankles, as if knowing exactly what her response would be. And why would it be anything else? “Yes, yes! A million times—”

“Really? Again?!” Peony whined, sticking out his bottom lip. “Why does nobody allow me to finish my proposals?”

“Wait—what do you mean again? You don’t mean—” She whirled around to face Kabu—who hadn’t moved from his chair, but was holding out a small box across the table, grinning.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the dramatic flair that Peony has,” he chuckled, flipping open the box to reveal a thin silver band curved to look like a lightning bolt. “But my heart and my intentions are very much the same, Mari.”

“We both agreed on this, and we wouldn’t have it any other way, Chief,” Peony added, turning her attention back front, where he’d produced a ring also shaped like a lightning bolt—but in the opposite direction. “So, now that I can FINALLY finish my sentence—will you marry me? Us? Well, mostly me, but Sparks comes with the package deal.”

“Hey, I’m holding out a ring here too, you know?”

“Oh my god—yes, yes! Yes, I will marry you. Both of you,” Mari laughed, holding up her hands before extending them towards either man. “I can’t believe this… you both really planned this… Arceus, I love you both so much…”

“DID YOU HEAR THAT? SHE SAID YES!” Peony yelled to no one in particular, causing Mari to blush and dip once more—but he caught her once he was sure both rings were on her fingers, kissing her passionately. “And I love  _ you, _ Chief. Oh, I gotta tell Nia it worked. She’ll be stoked!”

“What—Peonia knows about this, too?!”

“Of course! She’s the brains behind Operation Dual Proposal!”

“She got me good, too,” Kabu chuckled, standing up and walking over to pull Mari into his own kiss. “I’ll tell you about it later. But however it happened, whoever asked the question… I would’ve said yes. I can’t be happier to have you both in my life.” 

He pulled Peony to his side, and the larger man immediately took it as an invitation to pull both his partners into his snug-fitting embrace. “I second that. But that said… I sure am glad it was me!”

“Why? So you could tell the whole of Galar how much you love us?” Mari giggled, leaning into the two men’s warmth around her, doubled by the tender manner in which they held her hands.

“Well, yes. Because it’s true!”

Mari simply smiled, reaching up to kiss them both again, squeezing their hands which were now both marked by a promise. She couldn’t believe how well the two of them fit into her life, the way it felt like time with them both flew like a whirlwind and yet felt like forever… and now she got to have that forever with them, and she couldn’t be happier. As she knew they would, too.

“And I love you too. But…”

Peony raised an eyebrow. “But what?!”

“... We should probably finish our hotpot, shouldn’t we?”

Kabu couldn’t help breaking into a laugh. He knew he needed both Peony’s energy and Mari’s warmth—they complemented each other perfectly, and he couldn’t have one without the other. “Yes, especially since I managed to snag it for free.”

“See, Sparks, this is exactly why I’m marrying you.”

“Oh? Then we’ll have the wedding in the hotpot kitchen.”

“What? No!”

“I wouldn’t mind that…”

“But I fear Peonia might disown us all,” the Fire-type specialist nodded solemnly. “And we do have her to thank for our engagement.”

Peony grinned, glad he’d made the decision all those days ago to take the big step forward. Because not only was he now sure of the constants in his life—they also gave him the chance to start anew. One he’d take with open arms and an open heart.

“Aye, that we do.”

  
  



End file.
